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How To Clean Your Tech

Protecting Your Phone

I've never dropped a television, and you probably haven't dropped one, either. But at some time or another, we all drop our smartphones. We also put them in pockets or purses crammed with keys, forget to charge them, and leave them in hot or wet locations. Some of us have even taken them swimming. Smartphones need to be protected from their own owners.

First, be careful where you carry your phone. That pocket full of keys was fine for your old, clamshell-style "dumb" phone. But your smartphone almost certainly has a screen--quite likely a touchscreen--open for all the world to scratch. So put your handset where nothing can scratch it.

iPhone case photo courtesy of ifrogz.com.Better yet, buy a case for your phone--preferably one built for your specific model--and keep it in that. Most cases leave the screen uncovered so that you can use it, so buy some screen protectors as well. These thin, transparent membranes fit over the screen, stay in place, and let both light and touch go through them. They're also reasonably cheap and disposable: You can buy a pack of three for as little as $6.

Not all protectors are the same, however. Some "privacy" protectors, intended to make your screen unreadable from an angle as well as to protect it from scratches, interfere with the touchscreen's sensitivity. You might try one out for a few dollars, but you may want to stick with something that protects your screen from scratches but not from snoops.

iPhone screen protector image courtesy of ifrogz.comTurn off the touchscreen before pocketing the phone. Not only does this stretch your battery life, but it also avoids butt-dialing.

If your phone feels hot to the touch, turn it off and (if the phone allows it) remove the battery. Let the handset sit awhile where it can breathe. If the phone or the battery is still too hot an hour later, contact the vendor; something of a chemical nature may have gone wrong inside.

Don't worry too much about wearing out the battery. It will wear out eventually, no matter what you do, but probably not before your contract is up and you're ready to upgrade to the next new thing.

Get in the habit of charging your phone every night when you go to bed. That way, you'll seldom (if ever) run out of juice in the course of a day. If you still have trouble charging, buy an extra charger or two; one that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter may be useful.

Caring for Your Camera

If you're not satisfied with the camera in your cell phone and you prefer to keep something better around, that device needs its own special care, too. I've already described how to clean the LCD; but in a camera, that's the secondary cleaning job. Your photos don't really depend on a clean menu screen, but they certainly rely on a clean lens.

A blower brush (image courtesy of Amazon.com).The first tool you'll need is a blower brush: a rubber bulb with a brush on the end. Use this to remove the bulk of the dust. If that doesn't do the trick, use a photographic microfiber cloth and some lens cleaner. Spray the cleaner on the cloth and apply it that way. You can pick up all of these items, often in a kit, in any photography store.

If you have a pocket camera, you'll notice something that keeps you from cleaning the lens--it's enclosed inside the camera. That means you have to turn on the camera to clean the lens.

You won't need to turn on your digital SLR to clean its lens, but it has another component that you might want to clean from time to time: the sensor. Because you can remove and change the lens on an SLR, dirt can get inside and affect the light-sensitive chip that records the images (not a problem with fixed-lens pocket cameras).

This is a delicate and dangerous job, and you should think carefully about undergoing it (I've never tried it myself). Check out "Clean Your Digital SLR Camera's Image Sensor" for detailed instructions. If you think you're not up to the task, bring your camera to a professional.

Cameras can get pretty badly banged up as you carry them around. I know: I used to keep my camera in a large pocket of my cargo pants--then it clanged into a metal handrail and became an ex-camera. That wouldn't have happened if I had bought a carrying case.

A camera case by Targus (image courtesy of Targus).The best cases for pocket cameras aren't much bigger than the camera itself, and have loops to attach to your belt. Serious SLR photographers will want a padded shoulder bag with room for extra lenses as well as the camera. No matter the size of your camera, you'll want a case with a few small pockets for extra batteries and memory cards.

Should you need any of those extra batteries or memory cards, be sure to turn your camera off before opening it up to remove or replace any inside component.

After you get home from a vacation or other photo-friendly event, and you transfer your photos from your camera to your computer, remove the camera's batteries. That way, should an aging battery spring a leak, it won't ruin your camera.